Parents told baby would die after birth - but he survived

IMAGINE being told that the much-wanted baby you were pregnant with, was unlikely to live more than a few minutes after being born.

These are the terrifying words Finn's parents heard, as doctors told them their precious son's prospect of survival was very poor.

The prognosis was so serious that mum Natalie Forsdike and her partner Jonny Spain were even offered a termination.

"We were given the ­option to terminate but I ­already had my hospital bag packed,' Natalie, 35, told The Daily Telegraph.

"One doctor said we were looking at palliative care but another said he knew of a boy now running around after a transplant, so I guess in our minds we were trying to be positive."

When Natalie was 32 weeks along in her pregnancy, Finn was diagnosed with lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO) which is caused by a valve that had grown in the wrong place.

A lower urinary tract obstruction is a rare birth defect in which there is a partial or complete blockage of the urethra, the tube that connects the bladder to the amniotic fluid space around the foetus.

The result of this obstruction is that urine is restricted or prevented from flowing, resulting in backup of urine in the bladder, ureters and kidneys.

The result had wreaked havoc on Finn's kidneys, but there was even worse news. Babies afflicted with this condition almost inevitably wind up with damaged or underdeveloped lungs, owing to the low levels of amniotic fluid. Unfortunately this means they die immediately after they are born.

Despite the devastating news, the mum-to-be and her partner tried to remain positive. Like any excited expectant parents, they went ahead and set up their baby boy's nursery in their Bondi home.

"It was pretty hard having to organise everything, I am organising the nursery at home and I don't even know if I'm going to bring home a baby. But we did set up the nursery, everything was ready and we just hoped for the best," said Natalie.

Answering his parents dreams, baby Finn was born on July 4 - and he was breathing.

"He did have a partial lung collapse but when I heard him cry I thought, yes, he is alive," she said.

The couple took their precious boy home this weekend but Finn will require dialysis treatment within his first year, and will need a kidney transplant.

"He will need a transplant and we are already checking if we are compatible. It will probably be my husband however, because once you have given a kidney, you can't have any more kids," she said.

"Of course it a miracle that he is alive, and we do feel he is a miracle, but we are still early days in our journey."

This article originally appeared on Kidspot and has been republished here with permission.